Take a 45 case(.451) Long Colt or ACP, empty of course and deprimed, punch out the styrofoam in some of the take home food containers that restaurants give out. We will call these the wads. Use flash hole to remove punched wads from case if necessary. I punch out 2 per shell.

Resize and prime your case, weigh or measure your powder. Take a blunt object ( I use the blunt end of a Lee powder scoop), insert your newly formed wad on top of the powder charge.

Then load your shot approximately 1/8 inch (leveled) from the top of the shell.

Next insert your next wad, taking care to center and tamp down lightly, watching the edges using a pocket screwdriver to turn down any styrofoam around the case.

Sometimes I lightly crimp the case to aid in loading into cylinder of my revolver

Next put 2 drops of Elmers Glue, make sure to spread around edges of case using a tooth pick.

Let dry.

Good for mice, rats and snakes. Fun to play with too.

I only suggest this for those familiar with reloading. Use at your own risk and do not change components

I always raise a pretty good crop of Copperheads here on our place. And carry on my mower, a Taurus .357 Magnum revolver for Copperhead dispatch.

I always load at least one cyclinder with a .38 caliber shotshell.

So last summer, happening upon a smallish Copperhead on my concrete drive, I summarily executed it...but with an error in judgment.

Forgetting which direction the cyclinder turned, I pulled the hammer on the shotshell, only to find it was a 158 grain .357 magnum. I shot the snake laying on the concrete, a foot or so from my foot.

The snake literally vaporised. After the shot, and after I calmed down, I noticed a red cloud floating away on the air above the snake. That's all of the snake I ever found. And the bloomin' hole in my driveway is still there.

Just thought I'd share so folks wouldn't pull a similar trick on a .44 Magnum. Make it an axiom, always load your gun with only shotshells, when shooting shotshells. Or at least know the proper direction of cylinder rotation.

I've never assembled shotshell loads for revolvers but have had an entertaining afternoon with the Speer factory .44 Magnum shotshell loads at the skeet range. It was easy to break targets from stations 7 and 8 using an 8 3/8-inch Smith & Wesson Model 29 and the shotshell loads.

I always raise a pretty good crop of Copperheads here on our place. And carry on my mower, a Taurus .357 Magnum revolver for Copperhead dispatch.

I always load at least one cyclinder with a .38 caliber shotshell.

So last summer, happening upon a smallish Copperhead on my concrete drive, I summarily executed it...but with an error in judgment.

Forgetting which direction the cyclinder turned, I pulled the hammer on the shotshell, only to find it was a 158 grain .357 magnum. I shot the snake laying on the concrete, a foot or so from my foot.

The snake literally vaporised. After the shot, and after I calmed down, I noticed a red cloud floating away on the air above the snake. That's all of the snake I ever found. And the bloomin' hole in my driveway is still there.

Just thought I'd share so folks wouldn't pull a similar trick on a .44 Magnum. Make it an axiom, always load your gun with only shotshells, when shooting shotshells. Or at least know the proper direction of cylinder rotation.

That's definitely good advice!

Revolver cylinders don't always advance in the same direction depending on the manufacturer